Giant Skeleton
The Giant Skeleton, also known as Paranthropus, is an enemy in the Castlevania series. It is the skeleton of an enormous humanoid being. It carries around an equally gigantic weapon, usually a femur. Origins The Paranthropus is a genus of extinct hominins. Also known as robust australopithecines, they were bipedal hominids that probably descended from the gracile australopithecine hominids (Australopithecus) 2.7 million years ago. Members of this genus are characterized by robust craniodental anatomy, including gorilla-like sagittal cranial crests, which suggest strong muscles of mastication, and broad, grinding herbivorous teeth. However, Paranthropus skulls lack the transverse cranial crests that are also present in modern gorillas. Description The Paranthropus has a predictable pattern of attack: *Chucks a bone forward in an arcing motion. *Gathers itself for a moment and then swings a bone overhead, crashing it into the ground. *Jumps into the air, trying to land on the player, and then slides along the ground. Appearances ''Castlevania: Rondo of Blood'' / Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles First appearing in Rondo of Blood, the Giant Skeleton is a mid-boss encountered in Stage 3. It attacks with the same pattern described above and can be defeated with 18 whip strikes. Once defeated, the player is rewarded with a Pot Roast and allowed to proceed to the next room. In the Dracula X Chronicles version, after defeating the Giant Skeleton, the player is able to juggle its skull with the whip, earning 100 points at every eight juggles without letting it fall to the ground. ''Castlevania: Dracula X The Giant Skeleton also appears in ''Dracula X in the Caves, but unlike its Rondo of Blood counterpart, the player can simply evade it and proceed with the level as normal. ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Called '''Paranthropus' in Symphony of the Night, a giant skeleton that throws bones at the player. If at least one "CLEAR" save file is present in the current memory card, the Paranthropus will be able to drop the powerful Ring of Varda (it will become unlocked as its rare drop), a ring that greatly boosts all stats; if no complete save files are present, it will drop Turquoises in its place. The first Paranthropus can be found in the Coliseum. They appear more frequently much later in the game, in the Reverse Outer Wall. ''Castlevania'' (N64) / Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness A gigantic skeleton wielding a bone. This is one of the first enemies the player will face in Castlevania (N64) and Legacy of Darkness. It appears twice as a boss in the first level of the game. In the first battle, after defeating it, it will simply run off. The second battle occurs at the end of the level, during which the skeleton will begin falling apart and finally simply crawl after the player until it is killed. A health restoring item can be retrieved from its mouth after the battle. ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow The first boss in ''Aria of Sorrow, the Creaking Skull, is a massive skeleton that is too large to properly support its own weight; instead, it slowly drags itself forward, periodically pausing to swing its femur at Soma or spit a fireball toward him. A second one can be found in the basement section of the Dance Hall, and its soul can be gathered there. A later enemy, the Giant Skeleton, is a palette swap. It drops the Creaking Skull guardian soul, which grants the Guardian Big Bone ability. With it, Soma grows the Creaking Skull's skeletal club arm to fight any enemies behind him. It also attacks in the same fashion as well. While not particularly useful, it can help in defeating those enemies that gang up on him, notably Fleamen and Rippers. This soul can be replaced with other, more powerful, rear-guard souls later in the game, such as the Big Golem or Cagnazzo. The Creaking Skull is also the only boss found in the mobile version of Aria of Sorrow, with the exception of the end boss, Graham Jones. The Giant Skeleton is an enemy version palette swap of the similar Creaking Skull boss, and appears close to the end of the game. It is now colored lime-green. It attacks almost in the same way as the Creaking Skull, by slowly advancing forward and swinging its femur. Unlike the Creaking Skull, it can't spit any fireballs, though its strength makes up for it. Its soul is a short-range projectile where Soma throws giant skulls. Interestingly, when comparing the two enemies, the Creaking Skull seems to have what looks like a heart shielded inside its rib cage, while Giant Skeleton doesn't. ''Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia The Giant Skeleton appears in Minera Prison Island as the game's second boss. It is not like the other giant skeletons found in the series, as its fighting style is completely different. What makes this fight hard is the fact that the skeleton will bend backward if Shanoa ends up behind it, and it is harder to damage and to avoid when it is in this position. It's also the only boss that can be encountered as a regular enemy later in the game, appearing twice in the same room in Tristis Pass, along with a Mimic. Even with these difficulties, if the player takes full advantage of the Magnes glyph and constantly shoots over it when it looms close, it will be an easy battle. When it is encountered later in the game, it can be defeated as quickly as a normal enemy. Ignis deals lots of damage per hit, and with multiple hits it will defeat it easily. The Giant Skeleton has three variants in ''Order of Ecclesia: *Giant Skeleton: The first variant encountered in the game and the weakest. Wearing no armor and wielding no weapons, it attacks using its arms and legs. This variant is the only one that can bend backward, making it quite a challenge in the early game. It appears as a large, white skeleton, about three or four times the size of Shanoa. *Skeleton Beast: A more powerful variant encountered from early mid-game onward, the Skeleton Beast cannot bend backward, but swings at Shanoa using a powerful mace. It can deal considerable damage quickly to low-level players. It shares a similar sprite with the Giant Skeleton, but wears short armor and a helmet decorated with black fur. *King Skeleton: The most powerful and high-ranking variant, encountered in the late game. Its color palette is identical to that of the Skeleton Beast, but it has brown and orange striped fur on its helmet. It wields a long axe. It is usually found in the company of a Great Knight. Enemy Data Item Data Gallery RoB Paranthropus.JPG|'Giant Skeleton' from the Japanese Rondo of Blood instruction booklet HoD 021.png|'Big Skeletons enemy list entry from ''Harmony of Dissonance AoS 093.png|'Giant Skeletons enemy list entry from ''Aria of Sorrow Dxc 067.png|'Paranthropuss enemy list entry from ''The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night OoE 03 edit.jpg|'Giant Skeleton' in the official Koma comic strips See also *Guardian Big Bone Category:Skeletal Bosses Category:Skeletal Monsters Category:Aria of Sorrow Enemies Category:Castlevania 64 Bosses Category:Dracula X Chronicles Enemies Category:Dracula X Enemies Category:Grimoire of Souls Enemies Category:Harmony of Dissonance Enemies Category:Legacy of Darkness Bosses Category:Order of Ecclesia Bosses Category:Order of Ecclesia Enemies Category:Rondo of Blood Enemies Category:Symphony of the Night Enemies